I love having a grill that's on a covered deck, so even when summer is kind of winding down I can make things like these Grilled Curried Chicken Skewers with Spicy Peanut Sauce for a few more months. The chicken skewers were adapted from a recipe in, Fine Cooking Annual, a cookbook where I've loved every recipe I've tried. In the book they were appetizer-sized chicken satays, but I cut the chicken bigger, marinated it longer, and made them for an entree.

I've made these several times since I first posted the recipe in April 2007 (obviously cooking under a covered deck then as well, although it was on the front porch in those days.) I finally got organized and took a new photo, which really shows off how tasty this recipe is!

Put the chicken strips and marinade in a plastic bag and marinate a few hours, or longer.

When you're ready to cook, drain the chicken and let it come to room temperature, then thread it on skewers. (I love to use Double Kabob Skewers, which keep the meat from spinning when it's on the grill.

Mix together the soy sauce, lemon juice, peanut butter, coconut milk, sweetener of your choice, and Cayenne pepper to make the sauce and heat it over low heat. (This sauce is so good, I might double it or triple it so you have extra!

Grill chicken over medium-high heat, turning the kabobs every few minutes, until the chicken is nicely done and feels firm (but not hard to the touch.)

The original recipe said 15-20 minutes, but with my new natural gas grill I cooked them 12 minutes and they were perfect.

And for your amusement and to keep me properly humble, here's the original photo of this recipe from back in 2007, which I probably thought was pretty good in those days!

Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken breasts and cut each breast in half lengthwise to make two strips. Combine marinade ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Put chicken pieces and in Ziploc bag, pour in marinade, then seal bag and turn over several times so chicken is well-coated with marinade. Let marinate in refrigerator, a minimum of a few hours, or all day.

To cook chicken, first spray grill with olive oil or nonstick grill spray, or wipe with paper towel dipped in oil if you don't have an olive oil mister. Preheat charcoal or gas grill to medium high (you can only hold your hand there for a few seconds.) Thread two chicken pieces onto each skewer, folding back and forth as many times as you can to get a lot of the chicken surface exposed to the grill. Grill chicken, turning every 3-4 minutes, until it's nicely browned and feels firm (but not hard) to the touch. (When I first posted this recipe I said the cooking time was about 15-20 minutes, but on my new natural gas grill they were perfectly cooked in 12 minutes, so check them as you cook for the tie on your grill.

While chicken grills, whisk together soy sauce, lemon juice, peanut butter, coconut milk, sweetener of your coice, and cayenne pepper in small saucepan. Heat over low heat, thinning sauce with a little water if it thickens too much. Serve chicken hot, with some sauce on the side for dipping chicken pieces.

South Beach Diet / Low-Carb Diet Suggestions:
This is a perfect main course for any phase of the South Beach Diet, as long as you use an approved sweetener and natural peanut butter without sugar. This would also be approved for most low-carb eating plans.

Nutritional Information?
I chose the South Beach Diet to manage my weight partly so I wouldn't have to count calories, carbs, points, or fat grams, but if you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you.

More Recipes with Chicken and Curry:
(Recipes from other blogs not always South Beach Diet friendly; check ingredients.)

(Want even more recipes? I find these recipes from other blogs using Food Blog Search.)

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Sandy-la, there are a lot of variables in choosing a barbecue. I think some things (like steak and hamburgers are definitely better cooked on charcoal, and I'd use a Weber kettle for that (unless your budget can manage one of those Green Egg ones that are about $1000. I couldn't ever spend that much on a grill.) For things that are marinated or for cooking vegetables on the grill I use a gas grill from Sears, which I LOVE. My brother has one that's almost the same and he loves it too. It has three separate burners, so each part of the grill can be a different temperature, and the cooking grids are porcelain, which I wasn't sure I'd like at first, but do like a lot. I do think there are a lot of good brands but the separate burners are a huge advantage. I often cook meat on one side and a vegetable on the other end at different temperatures. That's a feature I'd look for.

Tanna, where are you traveling, you lucky woman. Do look for this cookbook. I got it at Costco, or they have it at Amazon.com now. I must have at least 50 recipes marked to try in it.

I just learned the other day (much to my excitment!) that in Indian grocery stores they sell powdered coconut milk, and its just as good as the fresh, once you add water. This is amazing news to me, since I never manage to use a whole can of the stuff, and my freezer is full enough.

Lynne, olive oil would probably work if that's all you have, but I think canola or vegetable oil would be the best substitute for the peanut oil. (Don't substitute sesame oil, much too strongly flavored.)

I had a happy accident today when I made this sauce... because i got a little crazy with the cayenne, I decided to make a second batch with no pepper and mix them together to cool it down. after I mixed them, I realized I had never added the splenda. When I went to add it, I accidentally doubled the double. something about the texture of the spenda sort of made the whole thing sort of fluffy and emulsified - it had an almost whipped texture to it. I wouldn't eat it that way on the chicken (a little too sweet), but it was delicious as a dip for peapods and cauliflower! Unfortunately, I ate about twice as much as I should have and have completely blown my nut/fat allotment for the day. But I bet I doubled my veggie intake today!

Made the chicken on the stove. No time for a full marinade, so I left it sitting in the sauce for a few minutes while I chopped up the cucumber salad. Worked out fine. Went easy on the curry powder and threw in some ground ginger for more of an Asian flair. Really, really tasty!

Kalyn - sounds delish. Can you please advise which coconut milk product you use for this? I'm assuming it's your fave Thai Kitchen Lite or is it something else? (BTW: they now offer it in “organic.” http://www.thaikitchen.com/Products/Coconut-Milk/Organic-Lite-Coconut-Milk.aspx) I sure wish TK would offer it in an amount smaller than 14 oz, in much the same way as tomato paste is now available in a storage-friendly tube. I rarely use coconut milk because of the waste. For example, this chicken skewer recipe would leave me with 11 oz of coconut milk. Hmmm . . . here’s an idea. When you post a recipe where a slight amount of a canned ingredient is used, in the days that immediately follow, would you consider providing recipes that would use up the remainder of it?

Lydia, I don't grill too much in the dead of winter, but probably at least 9 months of the year!

Thanks Jeannette. I groan when I see old photos like this one so glad you like the improved ones!

Gyr, I still buy Thai Kitchen Lite most of the time, but I do try other ones sometimes when they're on sale. I know what you mean about opening a whole can! There is a comment here about dried coconut milk from the Indian grocer, which I would love to try. You can find all the other recipes I have with coconut milk by entering "coconut milk" into the search bar.

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